Ross Struggles With Command, Does Well

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Robbie Ross Jr.'s crack at the whole starting pitching thing hasn't looked pretty in either of his two starts for the Texas Rangers this season. But the results haven't been all that bad.

Other than not working deep into games, Ross has not surrendered much on the scoreboard, and that trend continued on Wednesday when he allowed one unearned run to the Boston Red Sox and left the game with the Rangers trailing 1-0 after 5 1/3 innings of work.

He allowed just one hit and walked six — yes, six.

Ross was what they call "effectively wild" on Wednesday. He threw 98 pitches — way too many without getting out of the sixth inning — and only 51 of them were for strikes.

Once again, the Rangers turned several double plays — turning 10 in the three-game series at Fenway — and bailed out Ross on several occasions early. The only run Boston scored was on his own throwing error on a wild throw to first base.

It's fairly evident Ross and Tanner Scheppers, both, belong in the Rangers' bullpen. But they're in the rotation right now out of necessity, and Ross, in particular, is doing what needs to be done to keep his team in every game he's pitched so far.